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Unless your machine is compound feed or needle feed the needless have nothing to do with the feed dogs. Throat plates can though (the plate with the hole the needle goes through). If he recommended changing to a needle plate to a smaller diameter opening to prevent the fabric from getting pushed down into the hook I could understand that.

I was told that the silnylon I was sewing was slipping around and being moved while the needle was still stuck into the fabric, putting pressure on the needle horizontally and causing them to snap.

Unless your machine is compound feed or needle feed the needless have nothing to do with the feed dogs. Throat plates can though (the plate with the hole the needle goes through). If he recommended changing to a needle plate to a smaller diameter opening to prevent the fabric from getting pushed down into the hook I could understand that.

Yeah... I'm still scratching my head over that one. But without knowing exactly what the discussion was I'm loathe to be too critical of the expert. For domestic use I am only aware of a few needle styles... universal point, sharp, ball point, jeans/denim, and leather. None that I am aware of designed specifically for synth fabrics. I'd like more information on that. I'm not up to date on the latest developments.

Be aware, the smaller the throat plate hole/the thinner the needle, the more critical it is to let the feed dogs do the work. Pulling the fabric can flex the needle and cause it to hit the throat plate. That is not a good thing. People have gotten needle shards in their eyes from that kind of damage. It's rare, but it happens. When my wife worked in a factory setting she had to wear OHSA approved glasses to protect her eyes from that kind of incident. Not saying we should all do that, but breaking needles is not something to dismiss lightly.

I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn

Yeah... I'm still scratching my head over that one. But without knowing exactly what the discussion was I'm loathe to be too critical of the expert. For domestic use I am only aware of a few needle styles... universal point, sharp, ball point, jeans/denim, and leather. None that I am aware of designed specifically for synth fabrics. I'd like more information on that. I'm not up to date on the latest developments.

Be aware, the smaller the throat plate hole/the thinner the needle, the more critical it is to let the feed dogs do the work. Pulling the fabric can flex the needle and cause it to hit the throat plate. That is not a good thing. People have gotten needle shards in their eyes from that kind of damage. It's rare, but it happens. When my wife worked in a factory setting she had to wear OHSA approved glasses to protect her eyes from that kind of incident. Not saying we should all do that, but breaking needles is not something to dismiss lightly.

Thanks for the information. My needle brakes were always on the underside of the fabric with the thread still in the eye.

Long story short, the Necchi I was reffering to was purchased used from him a few weeks ago and I finally got it back from the repair shop (it wasn't set up properly) and ended up with a refund and no machine...so now I'm looking at buying something new (to me) again.

...Specifically I'm looking for a 50's or 60's Singer like the 400 or 500 series. I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled on ebay and craigslist for something that's been serviced and in good shape.

I was told that the silnylon I was sewing was slipping around and being moved while the needle was still stuck into the fabric, putting pressure on the needle horizontally and causing them to snap.

Interesting point about the throat plate.

This sounds to some degree like user error. Be advised this is a _very common_ mistake that beginners make. It can be caused by pulling the fabric rather than letting the feed dogs do the work. Particularly if the operator is in a hurry and the machine is too slow. You need to keep the fabric taut but let the machine move it along. It takes some getting used to.

I said to a degree because if the machine left the shop without being set up and adjusted properly then the shop bears some of the onus as well. To me this is a sign of a shoddy job and bad quality control. I am willing to revise my estimate of the person as an expert. I'm glad you got a refund rather than having to live with a machine that is not able to be properly repaired by the seller. One of those old Singers is well nigh indestructible if even half way cared for properly. Not sure I would return to the seller of the Necchi for service issues though. Some the information you got from him just doesn't set right with me.

I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn

This sounds to some degree like user error. Be advised this is a _very common_ mistake that beginners make. It can be caused by pulling the fabric rather than letting the feed dogs do the work. Particularly if the operator is in a hurry and the machine is too slow. You need to keep the fabric taut but let the machine move it along. It takes some getting used to.

I said to a degree because if the machine left the shop without being set up and adjusted properly then the shop bears some of the onus as well. To me this is a sign of a shoddy job and bad quality control. I am willing to revise my estimate of the person as an expert. I'm glad you got a refund rather than having to live with a machine that is not able to be properly repaired by the seller. One of those old Singers is well nigh indestructible if even half way cared for properly. Not sure I would return to the seller of the Necchi for service issues though. Some the information you got from him just doesn't set right with me.

I would agree. I don't plan on going back after all the hassle (quite a bit more than I touched on here). As for breaking needles, while using my previous Euro Pro (junker) I broke one needle in about 40 hours of use (possibly due to my laziness in replacing a dull needle) so I'm a bit biased that it wasn't me.

I had been trying to keep the fabric somewhat taught to avoid puckering as I did with the Euro but after the first break I even just went "hands free" with a piece of scrap to make sure I wasn't pulling the fabric and it only made it about 2 inches before snapping

Thanks for the information. Between this and a "sister thread" I made on backpacking light I've learned a lot and feel more confident in what I should be looking for now.

I would agree. I don't plan on going back after all the hassle (quite a bit more than I touched on here). As for breaking needles, while using my previous Euro Pro (junker) I broke one needle in about 40 hours of use (possibly due to my laziness in replacing a dull needle) so I'm a bit biased that it wasn't me.

I had been trying to keep the fabric somewhat taught to avoid puckering as I did with the Euro but after the first break I even just went "hands free" with a piece of scrap to make sure I wasn't pulling the fabric and it only made it about 2 inches before snapping

Thanks for the information. Between this and a "sister thread" I made on backpacking light I've learned a lot and feel more confident in what I should be looking for now.

I would agree the chance of user error is nil when working hands free. Sounds like just a plain old bad machine.

I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn